How important is Lowry to this team?

According to Cathal Kelly at the Globe and Mail, the answer is more than "a lot":

What makes Lowry so special right now is that he isnít just playing well and winning basketball games. What heís doing is selling a story. This is redemption Ė and it isnít preceded by some goofball tabloid outrage.

This is a guy who was the 24th pick in the 2006 draft, who was supposed to be a jobbing pro, an uncoachable player, changing his professional DNA by force of will. In Darwinian terms, itís like watching a dog grow wings.

This Kyle Lowry isnít just a star. He is the most indispensable part of the civic sports landscape since Roy Halladay or Mats Sundin.

Unlike those two men, Lowry has it within him to be a transformative figure. In the coming weeks, he can add a line to the 20-year obituary of NBA basketball in Canada: ďThen the corpse sat up.Ē

Understand this: Money will not be the factor that keeps Lowry from re-signing. Years will not be the problem. He will get what he wants. If he quits the light in Toronto to step into the shadow of Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony, it will be a judgment on the city. MLSE has gone so far down the road to planning a future with Lowry that, were he to leave, he would be derailing the train.

For a whole bunch of reasons Ė not least of which is the mental health of anyone who watches the Raptors play Ė Lowry has to re-sign.

Are you ready to do a deal?

ďI honestly havenít even give a thought about what I want to do after the playoffs,Ē Lowry says, in a fair attempt at feigning innocence.

I've said this a number of times over the last month or two, if we can't retain Lowry, then this franchise takes another huge step backwards. If he isn't here this fall, then in my eyes this season was just a huge cock tease and all for naught. I love the development of young guys like Demar, Ross and JV, but no one has lead this team with as much superiority since Vince, then what Lowry has done for this team this season.

No pressure Masai, but you (and our cheer bunny Drake) better find a way to ensure Lowry's here AT LEAST a minimum of another 3 years. Get it done.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Unless you're replacing him with a similar calibre PG, no we won't be fine. Slim pickings for alternatives this summer too. This is also coming from one of Lowry's biggest critics, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss how important he is to this team at the moment. Just sayin'.

Unless you're replacing him with a similar calibre PG, no we won't be fine. Slim pickings for alternatives this summer too. This is also coming from one of Lowry's biggest critics, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss how important he is to this team at the moment. Just sayin'.

I'm not dismissing it, I just don't think losing him will be the end of it. But if it is, we can always try tanking next year thankfully.

I'm completely convinced that Lowry is the biggest part of our success this season. He's been awesome - defensively, offensively and from a leadership/locker room perspective. But holy crap does the "blank cheque" stuff make me nervous. The whole thing about contract year pushes is that they are supposed to be convincing. Even if his attitude and mental make up have changed for good - there's still the injury issue. Giving him 5 years for big money could be a disaster even if his intentions and attitude stay solid.

There's still a big part of me that thinks if Lowry decides to get his $13 million a year from someone else it will be a blessing in disguise. Going all in for a good but not superstar-type of guy like Lowry seems like much of the 'small market mentality' that we were supposedly moving away from when Leiweke arrived.

He's our best player, but we play team ball this year and do not have an unhealthy dependence on any single player. If this team loses Lowry in the off-season, I think we will still be good next year. When we lost Vince, and when we lost Bosh, that was not the case. We relied too much on those guys.

My feeling as well, if Lowry doesn't resign, trade Amir and Derozan and for young talent and try to make the leap again in two-three seasons.

I have a hard time believing that Masai would already begin dismantling this franchise so soon. I could be naive in thinking this, but I'm not prepared to part ways with key players to take a couple steps back again. It might just mean key guys and our coaching staff need to step it up this summer and work harder with our areas of concern & inefficiencies.

I'm completely convinced that Lowry is the biggest part of our success this season. He's been awesome - defensively, offensively and from a leadership/locker room perspective. But holy crap does the "blank cheque" stuff make me nervous. The whole thing about contract year pushes is that they are supposed to be convincing. Even if his attitude and mental make up have changed for good - there's still the injury issue. Giving him 5 years for big money could be a disaster even if his intentions and attitude stay solid.

There's still a big part of me that thinks if Lowry decides to get his $13 million a year from someone else it will be a blessing in disguise. Going all in for a good but not superstar-type of guy like Lowry seems like much of the 'small market mentality' that we were supposedly moving away from when Leiweke arrived.

Here's the rub. While we all can see how valuable Lowry has been to their success, if you just give him what he wants (lets say 4 years $11 million per) you have effectively locked up this core and cap wise probably don't have much more room to do anything else in player acquisitions for a year or 2. Could be longer depending on what happens with Grevis, Patterson contracts, etc.

Don't think you will ever get the effort drop off from Lowry but you might not get the same numbers this year, going forward again if you are making this season the benchmark. Respect Lowry to the fullest and his efforts but also feel like if you pay him top dollar, more resources are going into the team, which is good......yet they still have no star, which for sustaining winning and competing at the highest levels is mandatory. There is unfortunately still a salary cap, and most of the teams resources will be devoted to a 28 year old pg, who has never been to an all-star game and would not be considered in the elite of the pg's in the NBA today (very good player but not on level of Paul, Parker, Curry, etc).

I have a hard time believing that Masai would already begin dismantling this franchise so soon. I could be naive in thinking this, but I'm not prepared to part ways with key players to take a couple steps back again. It might just mean key guys and our coaching staff need to step it up this summer and work harder with our areas of concern & inefficiencies.

I agree. And I even think the 4-years, $11 million dollar deal may be on the conservative side. Articles like the one in the OP certainly don't do anything to drive his value down, and if Kelly is accurate in his assessment that the Raptors are going to give him whatever he wants basically, Lowry and his agent would be crazy not to ask for big dollars and probably the extra year.

I guess I'm talking circles with myself. Man, my wife is right. I do flip-flop.

Yes, we'll be fine, you're right. As a fan though, I'm just not sure I'm prepared for another couple seasons of mediocrity only to get where we are now 2 or 3 years down the line. Get what I'm saying?

It depends.

If you're mediocre/treading water, capped out, few draft picks, players who have reached their potential.... then yeah, sad.

However if Lowry leaves, do Raps get anything for him in possible S&T? Do Raps trade other assets with an eye to the future?

A team that isn't winning is selling hope. When you bring in talented players watching them develop is fun. I'm a JV and Ross fan, I love watching them improve. I'm not a huge fan of DD's game but seeing his growth has been enjoyable as a fan. Trade for other prospects with similar ceilings or get numerous first round draft picks and watching a team compete and grow is fun - at least to me.

So I guess what I'm saying is I'm fine with taking a step back if it is with guys 20-23 years of age and with the ability to keep them under contract for 6 or 7 seasons with rookie contract and restricted free agency. That gives Masai a real opportunity to build something.

I guess I'm talking circles with myself. Man, my wife is right. I do flip-flop.

Yes, we'll be fine, you're right. As a fan though, I'm just not sure I'm prepared for another couple seasons of mediocrity only to get where we are now 2 or 3 years down the line. Get what I'm saying?

Oh I get it alright, but with or without Lowry, we may "take a step back next season". If the East is truly that bad now, and if the Raps record is inflated due to more games against lesser competition, and if the East somehow improves over the summer, then you should be prepared for a lesser seed in next years playoffs. CHI and BKN could very easily be much better next year, and I'm sure other teams will make at least some improvements.

Whatever this team does in the playoffs and offseason will not guarantee that we will be better (in term of record and seeding). So, how will you measure the success of next season? Would the team need to win more games than this season? Get a higher playoff seed? Get further in the playoffs? Do you think it's possible that this team could actually get better, but not acheive any of those things? I do. With or without Lowry, I expect JV, Ross, and even Demar will improve next season, but that does not mean we will actually finish with a better record or seeding. Nonetheless I would expect the group to be a better team.

This is a multi-year process and it will take time for this team to be a true contender in the East, even if Lowry stays. So if we don't emulate this seasons success record or seeding wise, how will you judge that? Even if you suspect the team has improved, will you chaulk it up as a sign of mediocrity? Will that be judged as "taking a step back", even if it is clear that the team has improved as a whole (if indeed it does, of course)?

It seems to me, that a lot of Raptors fans (not you necessarily Dr.) have some crazy expectations for this club given the unexpected success of this season. The idea that this season is a waste if Lowry leaves, or if we don't make it to the second round is a little foolish to me. Too many good things have come out of a very crappy situation that BC created and left to MU. We have nowhere to go but up, even if next season "appears" to be a step back.